INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Indiana Horse Racing Commission Senior Steward Stan Bowker says a board investigating the death of a 17-year-old apprentice jockey in a riding accident at a track found no wrongdoing by any of the jockeys.
Bowker told The Indianapolis Star on Friday the three-member board of stewards found the death of Juan Saez of Panama at the Indiana Grand Racing & Casino track in Shelbyville was “an unfortunate accident.”
The board handed over its findings to the Indiana Horse Racing Commission after reviewing videotapes of the race, interviewing jockeys and talking to trainers and veterinarians.
Saez was thrown from Montezuma Express while rounding a turn during the eighth race Tuesday. Bowker says Saez's horse inadvertently clipped the heels of the horse in front of him.